AISES Professional Awards

As part of fulfilling this mission, AISES is delighted to announce the call for nominations of the fifth annual AISES Professional Awards for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The awards are presented to science, engineering and technical professionals in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments as leaders, innovators and role models.

Now in its fifth year, these prestigious series of awards will be presented at the AISES National Conference in Anaheim, CA, which will be held October 30-November 1, 2008. The deadline for submission of nominations is June 1, 2008.

Eligibility
Any individual is eligible for consideration of a AISES Professional award based on their experience outlined under each award category.

Award Categories and Definitions

AISES Professional of the Year
The AISES Professional of the Year Award is presented for overall leadership and technical achievement. This individual is selected from among the top candidates submitted in all categories, therefore, individual nominations are not accepted for this award.

Executive Excellence
The nominee must be an experienced upper-level manager or a well-established engineer, scientist, professional, or academician who has significant department and budget responsibilities.

The Executive Excellence nominee will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Uniqueness of his/her obtained goal
2. Level of responsibilities
3. Degree of discipline for level of performance
4. Ability to overcome obstacles facing minorities in his/her field
5. Potential as a role model
6. Involvement with the Native American/Alaskan Native community
7. Presentation of the nomination package

Technical Excellence
The nominee must have made a significant contribution to science, engineering or technology by having designed, developed, managed or assisted in the development of a product, service, system or intellectual property.

The Technical Excellence nominee will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Uniqueness of his/her research
2. Degree of impact research has on humankind
3. Patents or Published works
4. Potential as a role model
5. Involvement with the Native American/Alaskan Native community
6. Presentation of nomination packet

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist
The nominee must be a professional engineer or scientist with less than five years experience after earning his/her last degree. The candidate's early technical contributions should already indicate a promising career.

The Most Promising Engineer or Scientist will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Uniqueness and or innovation of contributions to organization
2. Leadership abilities and/or initiative
3. Professional and technical achievement to date
4. Potential for advancement
5. Involvement with the American Indian/Alaskan Native community
6. Presentation of nomination package

Selection of Award Winners
The selection of the awardees will include a process that meets rigorous standards, is verified and validated. Each year a prestigious university will serve as the academic host to assure process and standards. A selection committee consisting of a variety of individuals from a diverse pool will review and score nomination packages individually.

AISES Professional of the Year Awards - 2007

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society is proud to announce that the recipients of the 2007 AISES Professional Awards.

The AISES Professional Awards were established in order to:

• Provide recognition for outstanding American Indian and Alaskan Native professionals in science, engineering and technological related disciplines.
• Assist with the advancement of American Indian and Alaskan Native professionals, role models and future leaders.

2007 Awardees

Click to download full press release.

Professional of the Year Award: Lorena Hegdal Lorena A. Hegdal, Inupiaq Eskimo, originally from Nome, started her engineering career working for the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT).  She remained at DOT for 24 years where she held a number of positions ranging from work in buildings and energy research, to designing airports, roads, and buildings.  Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (APSC) recognized her skills and Alyeska President Kevin Hostler saw in her a leader with integrity, experience and due-diligence and quickly tapped her as a key advisor to lead the engineering function for the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS).  A civil engineer for 31 years, Hegdal has risen to the top engineering position at Alyeska Pipeline, Engineering Director.   Hegdal supervises the engineering operations for the 800 mile pipeline that stretches across Alaska and the Valdez Marine Terminal, where tankers are loaded with crude oil for shipment to refineries on the west coast of the United States.   APSC is responsible for transporting 16% of the west coast crude oil supply.  This is a large responsibility.  Hegdal copes with challenging terrain and extreme weather conditions as well as maintaining regulatory compliance to ensure the safety and integrity of the system.
Executive Excellence Award:  Gary Bishop Following in the footsteps of his father and many Native Americans, Gary M. Bishop, White Earth Ojibway, joined the military to begin his road to success. However, rather than enlisting, he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, where he earned his first engineering degree.  Bishop is a volunteer for the Fort Apache Heritage Foundation and the executive champion for the Native American affinity group at Boeing, which he hopes will have a strong presence at the company.   He is director of the United States Army Apache Longbow programs for Boeing in Mesa, Ariz., home of the AH-64D Apache Longbow combat helicopter and a variety of military support programs. These programs include the remanufacture of 597 US Army AH-64As to the new configuration AH-64D Longbow Apache with a combined Boeing value of $6.0 billion. During his 31 years in the aviation industry, Bishop has held management positions in a variety of areas, including international, congressional, digitization, simulation, experimental flight test engineering and electronic warfare. Bishop holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY, a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI.  He also is a graduate of the Program Manager’s course at the Defense Systems Management College, Ft. Belvoir, VA. Bishop retired from the U.S. Army in 1995, where he led aviation, armor and infantry units as well as assignments in the acquisition corps during a 20-year career. Bishop is married to Elizabeth Fliedner Bishop and has two children.
Technical Excellence Award:  Dr. Stanley Atcitty Stanley Atcitty, Diné, is an electrical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The combination of his incredible technical accomplishments, his personal leadership qualities and contributions to the nation’s energy security challenges has earned him the 2007 AISES Technical Excellence Award.   Stan is an internationally recognized expert in the area of power conversion systems, research and development, and understanding of the system-level performance of electrochemical capacitors and is often called upon to give technical advice, presentations, and consultations.  In 2003, Stan received the prestigious R&D 100 Award from Research and Development magazine for the Emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO).  The ETO was one of the 100 most innovative products of the year. Dr. Atcitty’s work is well documented in peer reviewed journals, patents, patent applications and presentations to academia, government and industry audiences. Stan is well published in 30 publications and has more in progress.  As a role model, Stan has made presentations that focus on his experience as a successful Native American professional to college-bound high school students and entry-level college students. He has inspired many Native American students to pursue technical degrees and to strive for success in their own lives.  Atcitty received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University, and his PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.   Atcitty is married to Lisa Atcitty and has four children.
Most Promising Engineer/Scientist Award: Tara Astigarraga Tara Astigarraga, Choctaw, was a Communication major at the University of Arizona when AISES introduced her to software engineering. Today, Astigarraga works as a software engineer for IBM's Systems and Technology Group in Tucson, Arizona. She is responsible for testing IBM TotalStorage and eServer products together in a Storage Area Network (SAN) environment. Astigarraga received her bachelor’s degree in Communication & Spanish Linguistics from the University of Arizona and her master’s degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix. Tara is involved in encouraging Natives to pursue careers in technology and plays a key role in launching programs to bring technology and training to Native American students.